Lagging behind our European cousins, the UK is beginning to make headway in terms of its flexible working policies. Flexible working patterns allow employees to request a working pattern that will suit their lifestyle. Although there are significant benefits to employees, there are also benefits to employers, such as increases in motivation and competitive advantage.
Introduced in 2003, flexible working hours were offered to a select few, such as those that had to care for an individual and parents of children under 17 years old. Even then, those that wanted to adopt flexible working hours had to make a request after being employed for six months and were only able to change this once a year.
However 2012 will see a change, in which all employees will be able to request a flexible working pattern, to align with European business regulations. Nine to five is no longer the norm, and the recession is encouraging businesses to modernise and provide flexible working conditions in order to acquire and retain talented employees. It's important for businesses to recognize the individual needs of their workforce, and not just cater for parents.
Even though 43% of British HR professionals are positive towards flexible working patters, there's still some way to go until the UK fully embraces this change. Start up businesses and those with less than ten members of staff only need to provide flexible working hours until 2015.
An obvious disadvantage to flexible working hours is that it disrupts consistency and with the majority of employees preferring to stick to traditional working hours, this could place added pressure on those working out with these hours. Those working within a team may feel they are not contributing or feel left out in communications when they don't have the same amount of "office contact" as other team members.
Employees who select flexible working hours have been proven to increase productivity, which in turn provides an increase in revenue and profit for the business. Happy employees lead to higher retention rates, avoiding time consuming and costly recruitment processes. The temptation to feign sickness in order to catch up on social activities will be significantly reduced as employees are now able to choose a working patter to fit in with their lifestyle.
The flexible working regulations are set to come into place in 2012. But what does this mean for HR in Scotland? Well, as a constituent nation of the UK, Scotland is required to adopt UK wide business policies. Rather than waiting and following other businesses, Scottish enterprise should show innovation and become early adopters of this new policy to display innovation and use a unique opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.
Introduced in 2003, flexible working hours were offered to a select few, such as those that had to care for an individual and parents of children under 17 years old. Even then, those that wanted to adopt flexible working hours had to make a request after being employed for six months and were only able to change this once a year.
However 2012 will see a change, in which all employees will be able to request a flexible working pattern, to align with European business regulations. Nine to five is no longer the norm, and the recession is encouraging businesses to modernise and provide flexible working conditions in order to acquire and retain talented employees. It's important for businesses to recognize the individual needs of their workforce, and not just cater for parents.
Even though 43% of British HR professionals are positive towards flexible working patters, there's still some way to go until the UK fully embraces this change. Start up businesses and those with less than ten members of staff only need to provide flexible working hours until 2015.
An obvious disadvantage to flexible working hours is that it disrupts consistency and with the majority of employees preferring to stick to traditional working hours, this could place added pressure on those working out with these hours. Those working within a team may feel they are not contributing or feel left out in communications when they don't have the same amount of "office contact" as other team members.
Employees who select flexible working hours have been proven to increase productivity, which in turn provides an increase in revenue and profit for the business. Happy employees lead to higher retention rates, avoiding time consuming and costly recruitment processes. The temptation to feign sickness in order to catch up on social activities will be significantly reduced as employees are now able to choose a working patter to fit in with their lifestyle.
The flexible working regulations are set to come into place in 2012. But what does this mean for HR in Scotland? Well, as a constituent nation of the UK, Scotland is required to adopt UK wide business policies. Rather than waiting and following other businesses, Scottish enterprise should show innovation and become early adopters of this new policy to display innovation and use a unique opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.
SHARE
